No. 3 Calvert Hall rises to the occasion, beats No. 2 Loyola, 11-6

Photos of area high school sports events from the month of April.

Nelson Coffin, Towson Times

In a game that was dedicated to fundraising for cancer victims and their families, Calvert Hall coach Bryan Kelly's heartfelt speech to a full house at Paul Russo Stadium before his No. 3 Cardinals faced archrival and No. 2 Loyola on Friday night was well received.

Part of Kelly's speech was about Stacey Del Bene, whose son Michael is a sixth grader at Loyola and husband Tom was a 1976 graduate of the school. Michael plays club lacrosse with Kelly's son, Jacob.

"If I was starting a team, Stacey would be the first one I would pick," said Kelly, alluding to how hard she fought breast cancer before succumbing Feb. 12.

As inspirational as the speech was, it seemed to have more of an effect on Kelly's club than on the Dons, who were riding a three-game Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference winning streak and had won nine straight overall.

The Cardinals (9-2, 3-1) rolled on their home field, building an 8-2 halftime advantage and coasting to an 11-6 victory to grab a share of the conference lead with Gilman, Severn, St. Mary's and Loyola (11-2, 3-1).

Calvert Hall jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first 18:33, striking first when senior attackman Patrick Kelly ran off a pick to beat Loyola senior goalie Chris Thomas. That ignited a monster first half for the North Carolina recruit.

Kelly went into halftime with four goals and two assists. Junior faceoff specialist Stephen Kelly claimed 14 of 20 draws.

"We were spreading the ball well and moving it well," said Patrick Kelly, who did not score in the second half. "A lot of good stuff was happening out there."

Loyola didn't score until senior midfielder Mike Distler parked a shot in the corner on a bad-angle, one-hopper with 5:10 remaining in the first half. Freshman midfielder Ryan Conrad rifled in a carpet-burner with 47 seconds to go to make it 8-2 at the break.

After Black scored early in the third quarter, the Dons answered on goals by senior midfielder T.J Neubauer and senior attackman Alec Dauses.

Timmy Kelly's goal restored a six-goal margin and gave the Cardinals breathing room down the stretch to finish a strong week (they beat No. 1 Gilman on Tuesday).

"There were no aspects of the game where we were sharp enough to beat a team that good," Loyola coach Jack Crawford said. "I thought we were ready, but the first half proved we weren't."